Sole and heel construction



Dem 1924- 1,518,910

' J. R. GAMMETER SOLE AND HEEL CONSTRUCTION Filed March 27, 1922 y n ff ll 'q l o 0 Invenlor John R. Gammelfer filly.

Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

UNIT D STATES PATENT. OFFICE. l

JOHN B. GAMMETEB, OF AKRON, OHIO. ASSIGNOR TO THE B. F. GOODRICH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SOLE AND HEEL CONSTRUCTION. i

Application and March 27, 1922. Serial No. 547,028.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1,.Jomv B. GAMMETER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and Stateof Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Sole and Heel Construction, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to the bottom construction of footwear, and its object is to provide a sole or heel, or a combined sole and heel, of moldable material such as rubber and fiber stock having improved characteristics including increased stiffness in certain portions, enabling the sole or heel be firmly attached to the shoe body by ordinary fastening means and decreasing its liability to slip, decreasing the liability of the. heel to catch on rugs, carpets, -etc., enabling the shoe better to retain its shape, and. affording an improved arch support.

Of the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, showing the lower portion of ashoe provided with a combined sole and heel constructed" according to myinvention. p

2 isa reverse plan view, partly broken Fig. a reverse plan view of a heel embod-ying yin-vention.

Fig. 4. is a-- section on the line 4- 1. of Fig. 3.

Referring at first to Figs. '1 and 2, 10 is the sole portion and 11 the heel portion .of

a combined sole and heel or a shoe-bottom, and 12 is the upper body of the shoe, includ ing an upper 13, an insole 14;, a welt 15, and a counter-stiffener 16. The shoe-bottom 10, 11 has an attachingand stiffening portion 17, preferably composed of rubber mixedwith cotton fiber and vulcanized to a considerable degree of stiffness corresponding to semi-hard rubber. 18 is a metal plate embedded in said portion at the shank and constituting a shank stiffener .or reinforcement.

The stiff material 17 extends down to the tread surface of'the sole around the edges thereof, in order to improve the. grip of the sole upon the ground as compared with a soft rubber or composition sole, and a cushioning portion 19 of soft, vulcanizedrubber and fiber composition is provided as the main tread of the sole. The stiff material 17 is also extended to the tread of the heel 11 at the front or breast portion 20 thereof, and the rear tread portion 21 of said heel is formed of soft, vulcanized rubber and fiber compositionf This rear, portion forms a good wearing surface, while the stiffened breastpart 20 aids in preventing slipping on wet pavements, etc, furnishes an improve arch support and has less tendency to catch and snub under. on rugs, carpets and other obstructions, than the ordinary rubber heel.

The heel part 11 is secured to the inner sole 14 by nails 22, and a suitable cement may be interposed between the body and-the shoe bottom. V

In the manufacture of my improved shoe bottom, it is preferred to employ a mold having two covers, one of which is provided with projections adap ted to form the recesses in the stiff composition in which the soft portions 19 and 21 are to be placed, and the other cover being substantially flat to form the ultimate tread surface. Thev highly sulfurized stock for the stiffened portion 17 is first placed in the mold, with the shank-stiffener 18 embedded therein, and the mold cover having the projections there- .on' is used while the material is given a partial cure in a heated press. The first cover is-then removed, the softer stock for the portions 19 and 21 is laid in place, and the fiat cover is applied to the mold, after which the vulcanization is completed in the press, the resulting product having its parts rmly vulcanized together. i

The combined sole and then ready for attachment to the shoe in any suitable manner as by'cementi'ng, followed by the use of heel-nails 22 and a suitable form of sole attachment such as stitching 23 through the-sole 10 and the welt 15. To receive the stitches a channel may be cut in the sole by separating the soft tread portion 19 from the stiff portion 17 at their line of junction, and then cementing the soft flap back in place or leaving an open cut with the stitches therein.

In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown a heel or lift 11* of my improved construction, preferably made of rubber and fiber composition and having a stiffened or semi-hard attaching portion 17 extended to the tread at the front or breast 2O and a soft, rear tread portion 21 vulcanized to the attaching portion. To increase the adhesion between the portions 17 and 21, the former ma be formed with under-cut holes into w ich studs 21 of the softer material are molded.

heel structure is which are contracted in the soft POl'tlOIl 21,

and 25 are the nail-holes in the'stiffened portion alone, which have enlarged months for the removal of the mold-pins, and these mouths may he filled by cementing softrubber or composition plugs 26 therein, said plugs being centrally perforated at 27 to vent the air when they are forced into place;

or these plugs may be made of any other suitable material and maybe secured in place with a driving fit, by cementing or otherwise. holes and keep out-dirt, they also, it made to project as shown, tend to overcome slip- It: will be understood that the tread surface or surfaces may have any suitable formation other than the fiat formation shown, and the details of construction may be variously modified Without departing from my invention.

I claim: 1. A ground-contacting member for footwear having a tread part of soft-rubber Besides acting to fill the nail,

composition. and an attaching part of stiffrubber composition overlying substantially the Whole top area of said tread part, integrally united therewith by vulcanization. and extending to theitreadsurface at the edge-of said-"member.

Q An integral combined shoe-sole and heel having'an attaching portion of stiffrubber. composition extended to the tread surface in both the sole and heel, and sole and heel tread-portions of soft-rubber composition.

3. An integrally combined shoe-sole and heel, having a heel-tread portion and a sole tread portion of soft-rubber composition and an attaching portion of stiff-rubber com- ..position vulcanized thereto and eittcnd'ed to the tread-surface artmnd the toeand side edgesf'of the sole, and across the breast of the heel. v

' 4. 'A shoe-heel comprising an attaching portion of stiff-rubber composition extended to the tread surface at the breast edge, and

a rear tread portion of soft -rubbercomposition vulcanized thereto, said attaching portion overlying substantially the Whole top area of said soft-rubber composition.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of March, 1922. i JOHN R. GAMME' IERQ 

